VENTURA COUNTY This Weekend

“Messiah”

Handel’s “Messiah” will receive a traditional treatment Friday in Thousand Oaks when the New West Symphony, Los Robles Chamber Singers and Ventura Master Singers join to present the holiday sing-along. The program will feature the “Hallelujah Chorus” and the choral “Amen.” Guest soloists include Camille King, soprano; Alejandro Garri, male alto; and Nmon Ford-Livene, baritone.

* Handel’s “Messiah,” three Ventura County performance groups with guest soloists, Friday, 8 p.m., Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza’s Kavli Theatre, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. $8-$25. 449-2787.

Ballet

State Street Ballet artistic director Rodney Gustafson takes his inspiration from 1930s Tinseltown for “The Hollywood Nutcracker” Friday and Saturday at Ventura College. The company’s staging of Tchaikovsky’s holiday ballet has an Art Deco twist while the tale stays true to the traditional “Nutcracker” story line, complete with the familiar music.

* “The Hollywood Nutcracker,” State Street Ballet, Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m., Ventura College Theater, Loma Vista Road between Ashwood Avenue and Day Road. $15 general admission, $12 senior citizens and children. 482-6395.

Family

Gold Coast Theatre Conservatory will stage the family musical “Gift Rap” this weekend at Gold Coast Playhouse in Thousand Oaks. The production is a nonsectarian play--with a bubbly rock-style soundtrack for children--exploring the nature of gifts and giving.

* “Gift Rap,” Gold Coast Theatre Conservatory, Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m., Gold Coast Playhouse, 1408 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. $8. 497-8616.

Christmas Tale

Veteran folk singer Glenn Yarbrough, of Limelighters fame, will bring his yuletide tradition of presenting Michael McLean’s “The Forgotten Carols” to the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center on Tuesday. The fable--the Christmas story in song--focuses on the mostly overlooked or forgotten characters of the Nativity story.

* Glenn Yarbrough, “The Forgotten Carols,” Tuesday, 8 p.m., Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center, 3050 Los Angeles Ave. $20. 581-9940.